Hassan ..............Hassan ........................Hassan
Posted on 01/01/2006 7:54:30 PM PST by Kaslin
MIAMI - A 16-year-old who took off to Iraq alone to experience the lives of its people firsthand arrived back in Florida on Sunday, ending a three-week Middle East odyssey — much to the relief of his parents.
Farris Hassan, who said it all started out as a personal journalism project, was getting a crash course in media as throngs of reporters and photographers waited for him at Miami International Airport.
He smiled and gave a thumbs up before joining his family in a waiting car.
"I do want to tell you how flattered I am. The media has been very, very kind to me," the teenager told The Associated Press by phone from his father's car. "I hope to get a good night's rest."
Farris had cut school on Dec. 11 and left the United States, traveling to Kuwait, where he thought he could take a taxi into Baghdad to witness the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections. The border was closed for the elections, so he went to stay with family friends in Lebanon, before flying to Baghdad on Christmas.
He contacted The Associated Press bureau in Baghdad on Tuesday and related his story.
His goal, he said, was to better understand what the Iraqis are living through. The prep school junior had recently studied immersion journalism, in which the writer lives the life of his subject.
"I thought I'd go the extra mile for that, or rather, a few thousand miles," he told the AP last week.
He was able to secure an entry visa for Iraq because both of his parents were born there, though they've been in the United States for more than three decades. He took his U.S. passport and $1,800 in cash, but didn't tell his family what he was doing until he arrived in Kuwait and sent them an e-mail.
Farris' long journey home began Friday, when he was put on a military flight from Baghdad to Kuwait, his father said. He spent a day and a half under the watch of the 101st Airborne, the same division that had picked him up from a Baghdad hotel.
A U.S. official then accompanied the teen on a flight from Kuwait to Europe, and from there he flew home to the United States, said his father, Dr. Redha Hassan.
The State Department has warned Americans not to visit Iraq. Forty U.S. citizens have been kidnapped since the war started in March 2003, and 10 of them have been killed, U.S. officials say. About 15 are missing.
Now that he's back, Farris has some answering to do to some worried adults.
Officials at Pine Crest School, the academy he attends in Fort Lauderdale, have asked for a meeting with his parents before he is allowed to return to class.
His mother, Shatha Atiya, said Sunday that he planned to spend that night at his father's home.
"He's very overwhelmed. I don't think he had any idea about all the media coverage," she said of her son. She declined to comment further about his journey or the family's reaction.
Earlier, however, when asked what would happen when Farris got home, she said: "When he first gets off the plane, I'm going to hug him. Then I'm going to collapse for a few hours, and then we're going to sit down for a long discussion about the consequences."
___
Associated Press Writer Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale contributed to this report.
Yep. He's grounded.
I've never had to take my kid's passport to ground him!
Me either . Mexico doesn't require them:'(
Can you imagine a kid having access to the kind of money it took to get to Iraq?
He's a spoiled jerk !
Maybe not. His parents have good jobs but it doesn't mean he didn't work. My teenagers made several 1000 during the year by working.
Actually his mother said in an interview he played the stock market and evidently he's really good at it. He just cashed out some stock from his own account.
Great! Now they get to learn about taxes.
Take his passport away, mom!
Oh yeah. It was an experience that you just can't prepare them enough for when they get that first check. The little socialists turn to conservatives right before your eyes:')
Have you read the article he posted to the internet? It made me rethink my opinion about this young man. Not that it wasn't a stupid thing to do, but compare what he did to stories about young men who lied about their age to join the service.
Hassan ..............Hassan ........................Hassan
But that's a good thing! =)
When I got my first check from McDonalds all I could say was "Who is FICA and whats he doing with my money?"
Yep. I've heard it all. Then when you find out that now that you have a job, momma and daddy's money tree in the back yard isn't producing anymore it's a double shock:')
What's the big deal. This kid looks like a typical Iraqi.
Heck.......I'm a white guy who actually drove through South Central Los Angeles once. Now that's something to write about!
Yeah, well my best buddy and I rode our bikes through Crenshaw/Compton around the time Rodney King got beaten; I'm white and he's Korean! Top that! (Oh, and when we got home, our parents sliced us in two with bread knives.)
"His mother, Shatha Atiya, said Sunday that he planned to spend that night at his father's home."
Why am I not surprised that he's not part of a mom and dad living together family???
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